Economic Development in Jammu and Kashmir: New Initiatives and Technological Innovations with Special Reference to Agriculture (1947-2000)

With the end of the British rule in India, the state of Jammu and Kashmir also became free. The state was least developed regions in the sub-continent. The economy of the state was mainly based on agriculture and rural in character. The 90 % of people living mostly in villages derived their livelihood from agriculture characterized by low productivity and traditional methods of cultivation. The economic backwardness was visible by poverty, hunger, disease and illiteracy. It was because the state had gone through extreme exploitation during the Dogra rule and the people of Kashmir lived in miserable conditions. After the independence and accession of the state to the union of India the exploitative and discriminatory rule of Dogras came to an end and a new era of socio-economic development was ushered with new initiatives in different sectors of the state. The first and foremost step towards development was taken for the enhancement of agriculture because it was main occupation of a large portion of the population. The present work is an endeavor to evaluate the whole process of development particularly in the agricultural sector in post Independence period in the state.